Pre-cast concrete structures, such as the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,803, issued to Melvin M. Zimmerman on Jun. 21, 1988, are commonly utilized in the construction of foundation walls for residential and commercial buildings. Improvements to the basic pre-cast process have been made over the years, as are represented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,252, issued to Melvin M. Zimmerman on Oct. 8, 1991; in U.S. Pat. No. 5,656,194, granted on Aug. 12, 1997, to Melvin M. Zimmerman; and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,004, issued on Dec. 17, 2002, to Melvin M. Zimmerman. In generally terms, the process involves setting up the form with a polystyrene foam bottom and reinforcing members appropriately positioned, then pouring a concrete mixture into the form. After hardening, the side members of the form are stripped away from the now hardened concrete structure and the concrete structure is loaded onto a truck for delivery to the job site to be assembled into a foundation wall with other similar pre-cast structures.
In some instances, openings, such as for windows and doors to be added to the pre-cast concrete structure, are formed as part of the pre-cast concrete form. Concrete mixture is not to be added to the part of the form corresponding to the window or door openings. Similarly, two or more pre-cast concrete structures can be set-up into a single form into which the concrete mixture is to be added. In such situations, a transverse divider is provided between the concrete structures so that the side members and the dividers can be stripped away from the independent hardened concrete structures before shipping.
Once the form is set-up, a concrete mixture is dispensed into the form to fill the form. This process is typically accomplished through conventional chutes or tubular concrete dispensing devices during which the dispensing device is moved back and forth across the form until the form is filled appropriately with concrete mixture, working around any openings that are established within the form. Dispensing the concrete mixture into the form presents an opportunity to improve the process, reduce manufacturing time, decrease costs and improve profits.
A concrete dispensing apparatus, such as is disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/508,060, entitled “Concrete Dispensing apparatus for Pre-Cast Concrete Forms”, preferably has an auger in the hopper to prevent bridging of the concrete mixture within the hopper and to provide an even distribution of the concrete mixture across the entire transverse width of the discharge opening. Operating an auger in a harsh environment, such as for the distribution and conveying of a hydrated concrete mixture, requires frequent maintenance, service and repair of the auger. The time required to service or repair the auger corresponds to down time in the manufacturing of the pre-cast concrete wall panels because the lack of an operable auger prevents the concrete dispensing apparatus from operating.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide improvements to the auger that would decrease the time required to service, repair or replace an auger.